Agreement paving the way for first Czechoslovak state to go on display in Prague

In less than one month, the Czech Republic will mark an historic
anniversary: 90 years since the founding of Czechoslovakia. To commemorate
this day, the Czech Senate has put the original of the Pittsburgh
Agreement, a document that created the basis for the new state, on display.
On Monday, the US ambassadors to the Czech Republic and Slovakia presented
the document to the head of the Czech Senate, Přemysl Sobotka. Ruth
Fraňková has the details.

Photo: CTK
It is the first time in history that the Pittsburgh Agreement is on display
in the Czech Republic. The document, which was exhibited in Slovakia over
the summer, was loaned to the Czech Senate by the Historical Museum in
Pittsburgh. It is displayed as part of the exhibition Path to Independence
about the building of the Czechoslovak state. The head of the Military
History Institute in Prague, Aleš Knížek, explains its significance:

“The Pittsburgh Agreement is one of the most significant documents for
the independence of Czechoslovakia and its separation from the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this document our exile representatives,
Masaryk, Beneš and other representatives of Czechoslovakia sealed the
foundation of the new state with their signatures. It was signed in the US
where the borders of the future state were outlined.”

Richard Graber and Přemysl Sobotka, photo: CTK
The agreement was signed in Pittsburgh on May 30, 1918. It helped Tomáš
Garrigue Masaryk, the future president of Czechoslovakia, prove that
Slovaks wished to form a joint state with Czechs. The US Ambassador to the
Czech Republic, Richard Graber, explains the role of the United States in
this event:

“The United States provided a place to have these discussions and create
the framework for the future Czechoslovakia. At that time the US was a
haven, a place of safety, and I think the agreement is very symbolic of the
great trust and friendship that exists between our countries, the United
States and Czechoslovakia at that time, and today between the US and the
Czech Republic and Slovakia.”

Photo: CTK
“I said to myself ‘this is serious, and if this is possible for
Germans, then sooner or later this thing is going to affect us all’. And
I noticed something interesting at this time; that my fellow Czechs were
sympathetic towards the German refugees escaping to the West. This was a
time when people here were no longer ruled by fear, and when Czechs were
willing to help others in difficulty, regardless of the political risks.”
Even though Czechoslovakia eventually split into two independent states,
the US ambassador says this fact doesn’t diminish the importance of the
Pittsburgh agreement.

“I think it is important to remind ourselves of the friendship and
partnership that exists between the US and those two countries, the Czech
Republic and Slovakia. They are both great allies and friends and they are
both important partners in the difficult world in which we live today. So I
think it is important to remember the successes of the past.”

The Pittsburgh Agreement will be on display in the exhibition grounds of
the Czech Senate until the end of October.